Intel and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) claim to have jointly built the world's first electrically pumped hybrid silicon laser using conventional chip-fabrication technologies. The breakthrough aims to enable low-cost, ultra-high-speed computing devices, including terabit/sec optical links between devices, Intel and UCSB announced on Sept. 18.

(Click for larger view of John Bowers and hybrid silicon laser die)

The joint R&D project was tasked with developing silicon-based “photonic” devices using standard high-volume chip-fabrication processes, with a goal of fabricating chips containing 10 to hundreds of hybrid silicon lasers.

The low-cost, silicon-based laser technology is expected to expand the use of photonics in computers, resulting in faster computing devices in the future.

Learn more about the new hybrid, silicon-based laser chips by reading the full story at DeviceForge:

 
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